Cooler weather this year and a lack of rain has highlighted some
of the county’s microclimates as the annual grape harvest is under
way.
Hollister – Cooler weather this year and a lack of rain has highlighted some of the county’s microclimates as the annual grape harvest is under way.
Across the board, tonnage may be down slightly from 2006 because of lacking rain, San Benito County Agricultural Commissioner Paul Matulich said. In 2006, nearly 16,000 tons of grapes were harvested.
And as apricot and apple tress slowly disappear in San Benito County, grapes are becoming the most widely grown local fruit.
“Grapes have been on the increase in the last 10 or 12 years, so it’s one of the more important horticultural crops,” Matulich said.
In 2006, there were 3,788 acres of wine grapes that brought county wine makers $19.5 million. Ten years before, in 1996, there were 2,125 acres that produced $9.6 million worth of wine grapes. Matulich did not know how many more acres of grapes were planted this year.
Every year brings changes in weather that affects the growth of the county’s wine grapes, and 2007 was no different.
Calera Wine Co. owner and winemaker Josh Jensen said his harvest came two weeks later than normal.
And with vineyards on the high slopes of Mt. Harlan – more than 3,000 feet above sea level – lack of rain had Jensen concerned, he said.
“We were afraid we were going to have a really tiny harvest,” Jensen said.
Jensen trucked in water to feed his thirsty vines in the Gabilan Range, preventing a drought from limiting his harvest. Calera’s grape yield could be just slightly below average, Jensen said.
Freezing temperatures also gave Jensen a fright this spring.
On April 17 and April 18, Calera’s vineyards suffered two straight mornings of frost.
“And it was substantial frost damage for the first time in our 32-year history,” Jensen said.
Frost can kill new growth, but the frost at Calera occurred early enough in the growing season that the vines were able to compensate, Jensen said.
The frost has created a potentially staggered harvest for some of the company’s vineyards, Jensen said.
The onset of cool weather this week has affected the harvests of both Pietra Santa Winery and DeRose Vineyards on Cienega Road.
Alessio Carli, Pietra Santa’s head winemaker, said that this year’s harvest began almost two weeks earlier than in 2006. But with rains threatening Wednesday and cooler temperatures in the forecast, the harvest was expected to slow, he said.
“With this weather, with this change in temperature, it looks like we’re going to catch up with last year,” Carli said.
The cold winter and cool summer pulled the vines back a little, affecting grape growth, Carli said.
And although the winery’s grape production is down 10 percent, that may mean Pietra Santa’s 2007 vintages fetch higher prices.
“There’s going to be less wine on the market,” Carli said.
Next door at DeRose Vineyards, about five percent of the white varieties are left to pick, co-owner Pat DeRose said Wednesday.
“The reds are right around the corner,” DeRose said. “Some of them are almost ready.”
The drought has also influenced operations at DeRose Vineyards, with reservoirs failing to fill after a dry winter.
“We haven’t watered in probably 14 weeks,” DeRose said.
DeRose Vineyards dry farms several wines, allowing nature to take its course.
“I don’t know if it hurt quality-wise, but it showed some stress on the leaves,” DeRose said of the dry-farmed wines.
Leál Vineyards, in the low-lying foothills of the Diablo Range, hasn’t even started its harvest, owner Frank Leál said.
“We’re making a big, bad California red,” Leál said. “We can’t rush it.”
Leál said the winery has the longest growing season because it stays cooler than the vineyards up on Cienega Road.
“Yields are down, but for us, we drop a lot of fruit every year anyway,” Leál said.
